An undermanned UCLA squad forced two overtimes against Oregon on Thursday, but eventually walked off the court with a four-point loss.

Still, there were encouraging signs, particularly heading into Sunday’s 6 p.m. home tipoff against Oregon State.

The Bruins (21-7, 10-5) allowed the Beavers to shoot 54.5 percent in the second half of a Corvallis upset last month. Against the Ducks this week, UCLA gave up 38.1 percent, including 27.3 percent in two overtimes.

“It was arguably as well as we played defensively all year,” head coach Steve Alford said. “We made things difficult. We gave up some rebounding — I thought that was obvious — but other than that, we took their transition away.”

Added forward David Wear: “Defensively, we didn’t give up any easy buckets.”

Oregon, just ahead of UCLA as the Pac-12 Conference’s most efficient offense, only scored four fastbreak points. What truly hurt the Bruins were lengthy possessions; they gave up 17 offensive boards, and as many second-chance points.

Perhaps that can be forgiven. Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams served one-game suspensions for violating team rules, sidelining an average of 14.2 rebounds per game. That accounts for nearly 40 percent of UCLA’s nightly output.

Just half a game ahead of Arizona State for second place, the Bruins can’t afford any similar letdowns as they try to clinch the Pac-12 Tournament’s No. 2 seed. They were outrebounded 39-32 by the Beavers (15-12, 7-8), leading to 18 second-chance points.

They’ll also have to watch out for senior guard Roberto Nelson. The league’s leading scorer only had 12 points against the Bruins in February, but is averaging more than 20 on the season.

“He can take over games all by himself,” Alford said.

Likely starters

Adams and Anderson, the team’s two leading scorers at 17.2 and 14.9 points per game, will likely return to the starting lineup today. Alford did not commit to starting the pair, but said he would as long as Saturday’s practice went well.

Anderson also leads the team with 8.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. Adams has 79 steals, three shy of tying the school’s single-season record set by Cameron Dollar in 1997.

Senior night

Seniors David and Travis Wear, as well as walk-on guard Aubrey Williams, will be honored during a pregame ceremony at Pauley Pavilion. The Wears are closing their third season with the Bruins, a stint that began after the Orange County natives transferred from North Carolina. Williams joined the team in September 2012.

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Sunday will mark the end of UCLA’s home schedule; the Bruins travel to Washington and Washington State next weekend before heading to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament four days later.